In his first season at Plainfield (Illinois) East, Class of 2013 prospect Brennen Rompa lit up the stat sheet.

A transfer from Nazareth Academy, Rompa earned a starting spot at middle linebacker in preseason practice and proceeded to rack up 131 tackles (90 solo), 15 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and six forced fumbles.

Rompa is starting to earn some interest from both FBS and FCS schools, including one from the Big Ten.

Northwestern assistant Matt MacPherson has been in contact with Rompa, and the two had a chance to talk when MacPherson visited Plainfield East earlier this year.

“He’s a cool guy,” Rompa said of MacPherson. “He said he would stay in contact. This was going into the season. I didn’t even touch the field yet.”

FCS program Eastern Illinois has made the biggest impression on Rompa thus far. Rompa made a visit to the school and “felt like I was part of the team.”

“I felt they embraced me real well,” he said. “They took me around the campus, told me what was going on. I met some of the players and related well with them.

“The coaches were really cool. They were telling me mainly if I got to that level they’d take me in and treat me well and I’d reach my full potential down there.”

On Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, Rompa will visit Ball State. At this point, he doesn’t know much about the program but is intrigued by the direction the program is heading under first-year coach Pete Lembo.

“They have an up-and-coming football team,” Rompa said. “They’re doing better than what they did in the past.”

Eastern Michigan also made it to Rompa’s school, and Rompa was able to meet and talk briefly with assistant Kurt Anderson.

“He said he'd stay in contact with me,” Rompa said of the conversation. “I think it’d be a good school to look at.”